Naruto: Alicization
by Rein Tenebres
Summary: When Eugeo fell to the Administrator, his Fluctlight refused to completely disperse. Instead, unbound by the laws of matter, it searched through time and space to find the individual who would carry on his will. Naruto Uzuamki.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto: Alicization

Premise: When Eugeo fell to the Administrator, his Fluctlight refused to completely disperse. Instead, unbound by the laws of matter, it searched through time and space to find the individual who would carry on his will. Naruto Uzuamki.

Chapter 1: Alicization Beginning

Underworld, Kirito's PoV ( **Spoiler Start** )

"Eugeo-!"

My scream was yet again buried in the howls of raging electromagnetic noise this time. The surging shock waves crashed into me and sent me flying to the south window. Riding out the shock waves behind a sword stabbed in the floor, a part of the sword golem until a few minutes ago, I staggered to my feet and looked- At Administrator who stood on the floor with her own two feet, pressing down on the wound at her right shoulder with her left hand. And two large, broken pieces lying at her feet.

A dim, white radiance was still resided on Eugeo's broken sword. But it pulsed, just like the beating of a heart, as its brilliance faded away to nothing, all while I stared at it in a daze. The white sword fragments lost their substance as one and gradually began returning to a human form. The fragment from the heart of the blade to where it tapered off became the lower half of a body. And the fragment including the crossed guard became the upper half of a body. Eugeo had his eyelids shut while his right hand, atop his breast, held a crystal prism. It happened then, when his flaxen hair and milky skin regained the tangibility of a human. A terrifying amount of blood gushed out from both severed parts of his body, immediately soaking Administrator's bare feet.  
"Ah… Ah..."

The squeaky voice wrung out from my own throat seemed to come from far away.

Ocean Turtle: Rath ( **Spoiler End** )

Inside one of the many fluctlight cubes housed in the Ocean Turtle, the light seemed to fade. However, before it could fade completely, its machine housing shattered, and the light regained its luster, before vanishing.

Village Hidden in the Leaves – End of the Yondaime Hokage Era

The 4th Hokage had just completed his final task, sealing the Nine-tailed demon fox into a newborn infant. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the late 3rd Hokage, grimaced at the scene he had walked into. The 4th Hokage and a red-haired woman lie dead, draped over a makeshift sealing altar, deep in the woods outside of Konoha. Centered atop the altar was a crying, bloody infant with only the barest hints of blonde hair.

Hiruzen carefully walked over and picked up the crying child, and slowly began his trek back to the village proper. With muted tones, he gave the order.

"Incinerate this entire site."

His ANBU Black Ops minders did not respond, but instead, quietly went about the task they were just assigned. They weren't any less at grief than himself, of that, he was certain. It was with a realization that he noticed the child in his arms had stopped crying at some point. Looking down, the blue eyes seemed to be looking at something that was unseen to himself. 'Perhaps, the specters of his parents are bidding him their final farewell', Hiruzen pondered.

That which the infant saw was not as he had hoped. In the child's eyes was a faint mist of light enthralled him until it seeped into his form. A bout of exhaustion hit the infant, and his eyes closed to sleep.

The Sealed Realm

The Kyubi raged to an absent audience. He wished, begged, and plead directly to the seal holding his new, yet old, cage shut. Hoping against hope that something would free him from another lifetime of imprisonment. The ancient being was only met with unforgiving silence. Then, as though by divine intervention, _something_ began to take shape inside the prison cell with him.

As if matter of the mortal realm had hold inside this Sealed Realm, a pocket of air on the back side of the sealed lock began to become misty. Hydrogen and oxygen were fusing to become water vapor, which defied gravity and hung in place. Once a substantial mist had been formed, the water all seemed to get sucked in to the center of its form, as if by a black hole. The water continued to condense itself, until it took on the form of a sword, with a rose design in the cross guard. Then it froze solid.

From nowhere, chakra, the combination of spiritual and physical energies, filled the sword of ice. From it, the Kyubi could feel the essence of the sword, and could not understand. While not unusual for relics to live as long as the Kyubi itself, the ancient density and _feel_ of the energy filling this sword rivaled himself.

The phenomena was not finished, and the Kyubi was keen to bare witness to the entire event. He was not let down.

At the foot of the gate, seemingly standing on the shallow flood waters, a specter of a man unknown to the Kyubi took shape. The ghostly apparition bore full plate armor, similar to those that the Kyubi had once seen on the Knight Continent _._ The armor was blue and silver. The man wearing it had flaxen hair that rest messily atop his head. Unlike the sword, this mans chakra was faint, as though near death.

" **Who are y** **ou?** "

The Kyubi almost reeled at having realized that it used the human's language to ask such a question of the inert curiosity before him. He observed as the man's eyes weakly opened – blue, the Kyubi idly memorized – and regarded him. Without replying, the man closed his eyes, but did speak, and the Kyubi certainly heard.

[ **Release Recollection** ].

The sword moved. It turned to aim at the lock and sunk itself into it. Before suddenly, ice seemed to flow from the contact point. Like crashing waves, it spread out across the cage doors, thorny vines and roses of ice sprouting along its surface. When it reached the bottom of the cage, and made contact with the man that stood inert, it seemed to encapsulate the man, as if granting him a coffin of ice. Instead of continuing to spread, the shallow flood waters began to freeze, and the Kyubi swiftly lifted its paws to get them out of the areas of the water before they froze, then setting them back on the solid ice.

The phenomena seemingly over with, the Kyubi marveled at the changes to his enclosure, and at the man who now slumbers at the center of it all. It was as though the man was still trying to protect something from the Kyubi in his dying state. The ancient sword responded to the weak mans will, of that, the Kyubi was certain.

The Kyubi pushed his chakra against the gate, and instead of shattering the ice, as he had expected, his chakra seemed to dissipate, and be sucked into the roses of ice, which then seemed to grow in response. His test complete, the Kyubi lied down, only mildly irritated by the now chilled environment.

" **This... shall be different.** "

Hokage Office

Hiruzen observed the strange change in color of the boy's seal. It had gone from the black ink it was written in, into some strange ice-blue color. Verifying that the seal was intact, he leaned back into his reclaimed desk and sighed.

"Your parents would have had you named Uzumaki Naruto. I have no intent to change that. I will do what I can for you, but this will be an uphill battle for everyone involved for some time."


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto: Alicization

Premise: Naruto has been having dreams of another life. Another world with friends that let him forget about his lack of friends in his reality. However, a new dream surfaced just before his Genin exam. What does it all mean?

Chapter 2: Alicization Beginning – Part 2

Underworld, 3 days before Genin Exam

Naruto was dreaming. It was a dream he had long since grown used to. Or rather, it was a dream where he was unsure if this was the dream, or if the other side was the dream. For as long as he could remember, he lived two different lives. He would wake in one, and live. Then he would wake in the other, and live that. In one world, he had no friends or family. He lived in a military village composed of ninja, and strives to be one himself. The general populace of his village shunned him, and merely did the absolute minimum required to have the actions deemed as "fair" in the eyes of the government.

In this world, the one he currently lived in, he was the son of a lumberjack, whose task was to chop down the Gigas Cedar. It was also his job, but what he really wanted was to be in the village militia, and become a famous swordsman. He sometimes daydreamed about him and his brave friend, Kirito, being the greatest swordsmen in the world, with his crush, Alice, at his side as the greatest Sacred Arts master in the world.

Naruto was brought back to focus as he heard Kirito begin swinging the Dragon Bone Axe into the Gigas Cedar. They would compete at who could land the most clean hits into the trunk of the giant tree before and after lunch. It was usually a close call because Kirito's form was amazing. He would land clean hits far more often. However, Naruto himself had more strength and endurance. It took Naruto landing more hits overall, but he would always get enough clean hits to nearly equal Kirito's.

"Your turn! I got fifty flat this time!" Naruto grinned and took the Dragon Bone Axe from Kirito.

"Guess I'm just going to have to get fifty-one then!"

"Aiming for just enough to win, huh? No confidence?" Kirito's playful grin never seemed to waiver. Naruto wished he could emulate Kirito in his other life.

Naruto set about landing as many hits as he could into the tree. While he had to say Kirito had about ninety-five percent accuracy, he maybe only had seventy percent accuracy himself. Thus, as he landed his sixtieth swing, making for his forty-second clean hit, he was starting to feel the strain. Thankfully, the appropriate motivation made her way to the clearing.

Alice had long blonde hair and wore a blue and white maid outfit. Slung under her right arm was a picnic basket. The mere thought of the contents made Naruto's mouth water. Rejuvenated to get done with his task as quickly as possible, Naruto picked up the pace of his axe swings. Alice stomped her foot on the ground as her cheeks puffed up.

Forty-seven clean hits!

"Stop right this instant! The food isn't going to last forever you know!"

With that Naruto wearily set down the axe against the tree. He only got forty-eight. He glanced over to see Kirito grin at him cheekily.

"Only forty-eight, huh?"

"I could've gone for more if I had more time!"

Naruto glanced over to Alice to see the picnic blanket and food already laid out. He and Kirito rush over to sit beside Alice, who was tracing runes over the various food items. Stacia Window, as Naruto recalled them being called. It was a type of Sacred Art granted to all who lived in this world that allowed them to see into the essence of nearly everything. It was granted by the Goddess Stacia, hence the name of the Sacred Art.

After Alice had confirmed the food to not be spoiled, she allowed the boys to dig in, while she daintily munched on a sandwich of her own. Naruto saw Alice's eyes glance at the apple pie for a moment before resuming her lunch.

A-hah! Striking quick as a snake, Naruto darted in and grabbed a slice of the apple pie before carefully taking a bite. Delicious! He wolfed the rest of it down before patting his belly.

"Ah! That apple pie is delicious!"

Out the corner of his eyes, he saw Alice faintly blush and don a small smile.

Knew it!

He had come to figure out that the food items that Alice would watch for them to eat are the ones that she had made herself, rather than her mom. While he wouldn't say her moms cooking was necessarily worse, Alice's cooking was simply amazing.

It had absolutely nothing to do with him trying to flirt with Alice. Nope.

Kirito having picked up on the small exchange, began shoveling the apple pie into his mouth as well. Of course, both him and Alice knew that Kirito's intentions were less pure. He was just a glutton that had to eat anything that tasted good. Before long, Alice returned to the village church to resume her Sacred Arts training, and Kirito and Naruto went back to chopping away at the massive tree trunk. The day from then on went as it usually does, over the many years of Naruto having lived through this dream world.

Konoha, 3 days before Genin Exam

Naruto woke up to the faint smell of gasoline in his dingy apartment. He groaned as he realized he accidentally left the stove on over night. After turning off the stove, Naruto opened his fridge to find a jug of milk to use with his cereal. He idly noted that it was a day passed it's expiration date and performed a practiced motion. Channeling chakra to his fingers, he dragged it in a pattern similar to the one Alice used in his dreams. The chakra reshaped itself, and floating in front of the milk jug was the same object from his dreams, the Stacia Window.

Durability: 1 / 21

So the milk was still good for just this one bowl of cereal. Learning how to perform the Stacia Window a year ago in his dreams was one of his greatest gifts. Before that, he had to just trust the expiration dates on the left-overs that the stores would allow him to buy. The food tended to not last long, and most of it went to waste. The Stacia Window proved to be useful in sort of "proving" to him that various food products could last a few days longer than their listed expiration date. It easily doubled or tripled the durability of his wallet, Naruto joked to himself.

After quickly devouring his plain cereal, he went to the closet of his studio apartment and threw on his clothes. Having grown comfortable with the clothes in his dream world, he crafted a similar set in this world to remind him of what he simply dubbed "the better one." The clothes were the same as his dream self, except the top was dyed in a light orange, rather than a light blue. He had no delusions about the fact that these clothes made him look like a commoner, rather than a ninja in training, but he was okay with that.

With the extra money he had saved up from making his own clothes and extending the lifespan of his food, he bought the simple straight sword and sheath that rested in the corner of his closet. He picked that up, and attached it to his waste, letting his left hand rest against the pommel of the sword. He didn't bother checking it's Stacia Window, because rather than time, things like ninja tools and his sword only lost durability from use. It was still nearly full, and had a lot to burn through.

Naruto made his way to the academy and went to his classroom. While he didn't really go out of his way to meet anyone here and learn about them, he did eventually learn their names and skills, as he had to spar against them on the occasion. He sat next to Aburame Shino. Other than his dark brown hair, Naruto wasn't really certain of his other features, as he wore large, baggy clothes with a high neck to them that covered his lower face, and sunglasses to cover his eyes. Rumor has it that Aburame don't have eyes, because their Kikaichu colonies ate them, and used them as passageways in and out of their bodies. While the thought spooked Naruto a bit, it did not result in the terror that a lot of his age-group felt towards the young Aburame scion.

Before long, Umino Iruka, their chunin instructor, walked into the classroom and took control of the rowdy children. The man wore the gray sweats and olive green flak jacket of the chunin uniform. The pink haired girl, Haruno Sakura, stood up.

"Stand!" The class stood. "Bow!" The class bowed. "Sit!" The class sat back down. This was a daily responsibility for their class representative, a role she acquired with her grades, attendance, and behavior. She kind of reminded Naruto of Alice a little bit.

"Alright, we got the Genin Exam in three days. That means these next two days are dedicated to running you through all the drills for the skills that could be involved in that exam. We'll start with the Henge practice!" Following that was the alphabetical call of their family names, resulting in Naruto getting called after the talented Uchiha Sasuke, who quickly stuffed his hands in his pockets after passing the Henge, and returned to his seat, ignoring the praise he got from Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. Naruto walked down while visualizing his hero, Bercouli Synthesis One. The man was the first Integrity Knight in the other world, and was seen wearing elaborate dark blue armor, as the portraits in the story books showed.

After having taken his place in front of Umino Iruka, Naruto formed the handsign while channeling his chakra. The image clear in his mind, he intoned the jutsu he wished to use.

Henge no Jutsu!

Standing before the class was a tall suit of armor unlike any they had seen before. Iruka staggered for a moment at the presence of the armored figure before checking off Naruto's name on his clipboard.

"I'm not sure what that is, but it's certainly impressive. Good work. Return to your seat."

Accepting the praise, Naruto released the seal and returned to normal. With a wide grin he went back to his seat.

Before long, it was time for the next drill.

"Alright kiddos, we're going outback to the training field for some sparring."

After they filed out to the field and circled the dirt sparring pit, Iruka had them all pair of and fight eachother. Eventually came the inevitable call.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Center please."

Naruto regarded Sasuke as they got to their positions. He could see excitement tingle in Sasuke's face, being that he was the only one that Sasuke ever seemed actually interested in fighting. Sasuke worse white trousers and a baggy blue shirt with the Uchiha logo on it. Naruto had suspected that the over-sized shirt actually belonged to one of his late family members from that horrible night. Naruto reflexively brought his right hand up in a half-ram seal. The Seal of Confrontation. Following traditions was comfortable to Naruto. Probably a side effect of his time in the other world, he figured. Iruka sighed as Sasuke didn't automatically form the Seal of Confrontation in response.

"Form the Seal of Confrontation please, Sasuke."

Manners were not Sasuke's strong suit. Naruto understood that. Regardless, Sasuke formed the seal.

"Begin!"

This was a familiar song and dance for Naruto over the last half-year. In an attempt to prevent Naruto from getting a chance to draw his sword, Sasuke rushed him, but the distance alone was enough to buy time for Naruto to draw his sword and parry the kunai that Sasuke tried to pierce him with. Sasuke's knife arm got thrown to the side, leaving his mid-section exposed for Naruto to attempt to swing his sword horizontally into him. Sasuke, identifying the danger, dodge by dropping to the ground, supporting by his open hand, and kicked his legs out, attempting to kick Naruto's legs out from under him. Naruto felt the hit, but instead of falling, transitioned his motion from falling, to somersaulting backwards, using his open hand as a spring as Sasuke had done. With distance once again acquired, Sasuke stood back up and glared at Naruto. Likely, he was determining a way to beat him.

Sasuke threw down a smoke bomb, obscuring himself from Naruto's vision, if only briefly.

Bunshin no Jutsu!

The smoke parted, and there stood three of Sasuke, with the middle one holding the ram seal required to form the jutsu. Naruto clucked his tongue and grit his teeth. This is the jutsu he still couldn't get right himself. The three Sasukes went into defensive stances with their kunai, and smirked at Naruto with a challenge at his lips. Naruto shifted his stance a little, getting ready to sprint forward while aiming his sword to spear through the center Sasuke that had the hand-seal after the smoke cleared. Naruto cycled his chakra through his system, and sped forward with more speed than most of his class could handle. Thrusting his sword out, he pierced straight through the center Sasuke's shoulder.

Or so he thought. He stumbled _through_ the center Sasuke as it phased out of existence, and he lost his balance. The Sasuke on his right spun down, kicking his feet from under him, and used his kunai hand to stake Naruto's sword arm to the ground without piercing him. He clambered onto Naruto's back and took out a second kunai to hold to Naruto's throat.

Naruto let go of the breath he was holding and chuckled slightly while drawing in a shaky breath.

"Damn Sasuke. You win."

Sasuke grunted and got off of him and went back to the starting position. Naruto stood up and did the same while sheathing his sword. Iruka checked both their names on his clipboard.

"Excellent work, Sasuke. However, while your deception technique pulled through, you need to recognize that it was a gamble. If Naruto had correctly determined which one was the real you, you would have taken a fatal blow. You've seen the results of Naruto's strikes against the dummies, so you should know the threat it poses."

Sasuke simply nodded while giving a grunt in response.

"Naruto, you're starting to show some finesse with that sword of yours, but remember it's not your only weapon. Sasuke defeated you with the clever used of multiple tools at once. Smoke bombs, ninjutsu, kunai, and taijutsu were all used simultaneously for that determining blow against you. The entire time, you only used kenjutsu and a dash of taijutsu. Remember that you are a ninja, and need to use everything available to you to win. If you pass the Genin Exam, your jonin instructor is going to require you to have a fully stocked tool pouch. Additionally, you made just just as significant a gamble as Sasuke did in the final encounter, but you're the one who lost it. You should've recognized the deception and determined a different strategy. So remember, ninjutsu and ninja tools need to be mixed into your style."

Naruto groaned at what felt like a thorough admonishment of his performance.

"Yes, sir."

He formed the Seal of Reconciliation, and Sasuke followed suit. The rest of the day seemed to go by quietly. The night brought a dream near identical to the night priors, and the day after had more sparring, theory recital, and Kawarimi no Jutsu practice.

Konoha, 1 day before Genin Exam

Naruto gasped as he woke up in a cold sweat. What he just experienced couldn't be anything less than a nightmare. Him, Kirito, and Alice adventured to the mountains bordering the Dark Territory and discovered the dragon from Bercouli's legend to be dead, but the Blue Rose Sword was still there. Then, Alice accidentally crossed literally _just a finger_ across the Dark Territory border, and an Integrity Knight just came and took her, while he did nothing! Kirito tried to get him to follow a plan of his to help Alice escape, but his right eye burned brilliantly against his will to defy the Integrity Knight, and Kirito was soundly defeated and knocked away.

There was something else from that dream though. His apartment was still dark, but instead of flipping his light on, he picked up a kunai that was on his bedside table and held a finger up from his other hand, pointing it at the kunai. Channeling his chakra into his fingertip, he took a deep breath and intoned the words from his dream turned nightmare.

System Call. Generate luminous element.

The kunai glowed brightly in the confines of his dark apartment, but he was too distraught to truly get amazed. He crumpled back into his back crying, as he felt himself a failure for letting his friend and crush get taken away, and leaving his best friend alone to the battle in an attempt to get her back.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto: Alicization

Premise: It's time for the Genin Exam! However, foul plans are afoot. The following trauma will awaken the man who is a long way from home.

Chapter 3: Alicization Beginning – Part 3

The Sealed Realm

Who was that terror coming from? Within his cocoon of ice, Eugeo's eyes briefly opened to see the curious gaze of the Kyubi meet his own, before drifting off to sleep once more.

Konoha, 1 day before Genin Exam

Naruto did not leave for school that day. He stayed in bed, crying in agony as he tried to fall back to sleep. He needed to be there! Alice needed him now! Screw the rules of this stupid sleep world! But it wasn't to be. The sleep just wouldn't come again. The scenario kept replaying in his mind as he tried to understand how he hadn't acted when he had the chance. Even Kirito tried! Hell, he abandoned Kirito in there too!

Hours seemed to pass before he heard knocking at his door. He got up from his bed, and gave himself a quick once-over. Naruto was only wearing his sleeping clothes: a set of plain gray flannel pants and shirt. Shrugging, he went up to his door to open it, not really caring about his attire at the moment anyways. At the door was his Chunin Instructor, Umino Iruka.

Umino Iruka had gone to Naruto's apartment with the intent of a derisive lecture, originally. However, the sight of Naruto's red, puffy eyes when he opened the door put that intent on the back burner. He relaxed his features.

"Hey, Naruto. May I come in?" The boy frowned for a moment before letting him in. Iruka followed Naruto into the door and closed it behind him as Naruto went to the kitchenette and put a kettle of water on the stove. Taking a look around, Iruka noted that the apartment was fairly clean, if only a little cold. There didn't appear to be much in the way of decoration in the small studio apartment. The instructor took a seat at Naruto's dining table, and watched Naruto continue. He saw Naruto briefly glance at the expiration date on his box of tea bags, before nodding. Evidently pleased with the remaining time. "You're late to class, by the way."

Naruto paused for a moment. "Oh." He said simply. In Naruto's current state, Iruka had no doubts that he actually forgot about it that simply. Naruto had never missed class before. Never. Really, he was one of his best students, having gotten the title of "Honor Student" even though he wasn't quite the best in the class. He studied diligently, and paid rapt attention during class. He also never tried to forgo the sparring traditions. When he first took the recently promoted Yuhi Kurenai's class, he let himself be clouded in disdain. But, Naruto just went and proved himself to be the best mannered student he had.

"You want to tell me about it?" Naruto came over with the finished tea, and set it in front of Iruka. Picking it up and testing the flavor, he nodded at Naruto's choice. Oolong tea. Great stuff for helping break down the more stubborn foods. Tasted good in general too. He watched Naruto seem to struggle with his choice of words before faintly nodding to himself.

"I suppose, it may have really been just a nightmare." Naruto admitted reluctantly. Iruka motioned for him to continue on. "Maybe when I was seven or eight, I don't really remember how long back it was. I was really lonely. I had no friends, or family. I suppose I still don't, really. I was just so lonely." Naruto paused for a moment, taking a sip, and possible even trying to build up his courage, Iruka thought. "Then, these dreams started. Some fantastic other world. It was consistent too. I would have dreams of this world every single night. Always following it's own timeline. At some point, I thought that maybe it wasn't just dreams. That I was actually living an alternate life every time I went to sleep."

Iruka frowned in thought. Maybe he should take Naruto to the Yamanaka for the day? Confusing dreams for reality could be a problem down the line, especially for a shinobi. He was about to propose such a thought before Naruto continued his tale.

"I had these two really great friends. This girl I really liked, named Alice. She was really smart and skilled. Then there was my best friend, Kirito. He was really clever and brave. I wanted to be just like the both of them. In the village of Rulid that we lived in, we didn't really get to choose our careers. There was some divine law or some such in place where we had to sort of inherit a job. Kirito and I were assigned to be lumberjacks specifically designated to this one super tree. Alice was assigned to eventually become the new Priest for the church. She was really good at the Sacred Arts."

Naruto got up to fetch his sword and bring it to the table. "Really though, all three of us were wanting to become heroic swordsmen for the kingdom, Integrity Knights." The last two words almost came out bitterly to Iruka's ears.

"Integrity Knights?" Questioned Iruka.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, they're the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the kingdom, and rode on dragons into battle against the monsters outside the kingdom's border." Iruka nodded. He had been wondering about that Henge from a couple days back.

"That tall suit of armor you transformed into a couple days back, was that what that was? An Integrity Knight?"

"That was how Bercouli Synthesis One, the first Integrity Knight and folk hero of Rulid village, was depicted in books from the dream." Iruka frowned at the strange name.

"Synthesis One?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really know, but our guess was that Integrity Knights forwent their family names, and took up Synthesis." He paused briefly. "Well, to fulfill my desire to become a swordsman, I took up a sword on this side. I don't have any real training with it yet, but I did a lot of sparring with Kirito and Alice on the other side. While we couldn't be swordsmen, we still fashioned some swords out of wood, and sparred with each other during our designated play times, and sometimes lunch time."

Iruka pondered at the detail of these dreams. It wasn't really normal to seemingly quite literally live another existence in ones dreams. "So, what brings us to today? Did something happen last night in this dream world?"

Naruto took a shuddering breath. "The three of us went on an adventure, and accidentally found ourselves at the border of the kingdom. Alice tripped, and really, only her hand touched the other side of the border, which was still enough to break the law of not crossing the border, apparently. The next morning, another Integrity Knight came to arrest Alice for high treason. Kirito tried to get me to help him with a plan to grab Alice and run away, but I was just so scared and couldn't move. Before I knew it, Alice was gone, and Kirito was nowhere to be found."

Iruka sighed. This was really outside his experiences, but he had to somehow calm Naruto down. "Listen, Naruto. When you graduate tomorrow, you're going to be placed on teams of three. Your two partners are going to be relying on you to have their back, and you're going to be relying on them to have your back. It's possible you are experiencing anxiety about this whole thing. Look, take today off. I'll excuse you from class for today. But make sure you are on time for the Genin Exams tomorrow. Being late is an automatic fail, and I don't want to see you have to retake the year again." Getting up, Iruka thanked Naruto for the tea before walking out the door, leaving Naruto to his own devices.

The Next Day

Naruto had arrived to class early, and waited. Over the course of the next half hour, he watched the rest of the class file in, some of which gave him odd looks. Probably wondering about his absence the previous day, which was a complete oddball for his school record. Before long, Iruka and another man with cobalt hair walked in. Naruto saw the man every once in a while when Iruka needed an assistant. Mizuki, one of Iruka's old Genin teammates. Iruka silenced the class.

"Alright. The test for this year has been decided to be on the more practical side. There will not be a written exam. We'll call your name, you'll come to the next room with us, and perform the test. Any questions?" No-one's hand went up. "Alright, Aburame Shino, please come with us." The heavily clothed and bespectacled brunette who usually sat in the back of the room got up and left with the instructors.

Before long, it was Naruto's turn. Naruto detected the faint frown on Iruka's face. A negative indicator for the exam. "Naruto, please perform the Henge." Naruto formed the hand-seal and intoned.

[ **Henge no Jutsu** ]!

The smoke dispersed and in his place was a carbon copy of Umino Iruka, complete with a clipboard in hand. Iruka and Mizuki both nodded and checked his name off on their clipboards. Naruto released the technique and returned to his original form.

"Next is the Kawarimi." Mizuki said. He gestured to the chunk of log in the corner of the room. "Please use that as your material." Naruto nodded, and again performed the ram hand-seal that was universal to the three academy ninjutsu.

[ **Kawarimi no Jutsu** ]!

Again, smoke dispersed, and Naruto and the log had swapped location. Naruto repeated the technique to move the log back to where it was. The two instructors marked their clipboards again. This time, Iruka spoke.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but for the final item, please perform the Bunshin technique."

Ah, so that's what it was. Naruto sighed, forming the hand-seal once more. He was never able to get this technique down. He followed every single instruction in regards to this technique, but it just wouldn't form correctly.

[ **Bunshin no Jutsu** ]!

With a stroke of inspiration, Naruto once again intoned the words he needed, using the smoke as cover.

[ **Henge no Jutsu** ]!

When the smoke cleared, he saw Iruka give him a faint, but sad smile. Not quite standing before the two instructors were three deathly looking images of Naruto.

"Naruto, while I really appreciate the attempt to match the criteria of being indistinguishable from your clones, the fact remains that in a live-fire situation, you would not be able to do the same, and achieve any favorable results. I'm sorry, but I have to fail you." Naruto sighed in disappointment and was about to depart when he heard Mizuki speak.

"Iruka. This is his third time, and he did create a clone. We could let him pass." The words seemed honey sweet to Naruto's ears. "Not to mention, he did use some clever thinking to try and circumvent the requirements of the technique." Iruka contemplated the argument for a moment when Naruto himself spoke up.

"No, Mizuki-sensei. Iruka-sensei's assessment is fair." With two final words, Naruto walked out. "I understand." Iruka looked on forlornly.

"Well, let's get the next student."

Academy Courtyard

Naruto sat on the swing in debate. He wasn't sure if he could set through the last year of the academy again. He already knew that he disappointed the old man who sponsored him in when he failed the first two times. Unfortunately, that stupid technique kept making the requirements, and he just couldn't get it.

He was pulled from his thoughts as he became aware of Mizuki blocking the sunlight. "May I join you, Naruto?" With only a shrug as a response. Mizuki plopped himself down at the base of the tree that held Naruto's swing aloft.

"Iruka-sensei is a serious person. His parents were killed when he was young and he had to take care of everything himself." Naruto nodded. He wasn't aware of this facet of his instructor's life, but he knew how it was. He lived it himself, after all. Mizuki continued.

"He probably sees himself in you. He's probably thinking he wants to see you become strong in the real way. Try to understand Iruka's feeling, since you also have no parents." Naruto cringed. That felt more like a blow, rather than attempt to comfort him. Mizuki regarded the silent boy for a moment longer. "I'll tell you a special secret."

Naruto looked over at him. "Huh?"

That Night

Naruto sat on top of the Hokage Tower checking over his strategy and information. He had a map that marked out all of the patrol routes relating to his target, as well as another map that marked a path for him to reach the rendezvous point. Getting up, he looked down to see the ledge for the window he needed to breach. It didn't take him long to slip in, as it was already open for some reason. Noting the potted fern in the corner of the room, he stealthily crept out of the room he was in and turned right. This section was the hallway to the main vault.

His patrol map showed that the Hokage himself would be coming around to this area soon, and it mentioned that he wasn't a sensor. Thus, Naruto applied the strategy he devised. He went up to a more open end of the hallway, and Henge'd himself into a potted fern similar to the one he saw when he slipped in. Before long, the Hokage rounded the corner and walked passed him without notice. Confirming that the Hokage left the area, Naruto removed his technique and went into the vault. Lying almost haphazardly was the target, a large scroll, big enough to use as replacement material.

A Cabin in the Woods

Naruto opened the Forbidden Scroll of Seals and found the first thing in there. He wasted a little time on the acquisition of the scroll, so he needed to learn this technique quickly. A sweat drop formed on his brow as he saw what the technique was. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Evidently, it's a superior form of the Bunshin no Jutsu.

He formed the strange hand-seal.

[ **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** ]!

Two perfect copies of himself stood before him. They all grinned.

Before long, Umino Iruka walked into Naruto seemingly taking a break from something and chugging water from a water skin. "Naruto." Startled, Naruto put down his water and looked over to him.

"Iruka-sensei! Are you proctoring the make-up instead of Mizuki-sensei?" What? Iruka detected the sound of steel shifting against steel. "Naruto, move!" He rushed over and shoved Naruto out of the way of a flurry of kunai and shuriken. Most of the implements thankfully impacted his flak jacket, but stray kunai still buried itself into his left bicep. "Grk!"

Mizuki landed on a branch of a tree that was in their view, a pair of large shuriken strapped to his back. "Naruto, give me the scroll!" He shouted. Naruto was confused. What was going on? This was just supposed to be a make-up exam!

"What's going on here!"

Iruka cut in, trying to remain as calm as possible. "Naruto! Whatever happens, don't give him the scroll! That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden ninjutsu written inside it. Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!" Naruto slung the scroll onto his back, and drew his sword, keeping both Mizuki and Iruka in his line of sight.

Mizuki chuckled. "Naruto, there's no point in you having it. I'll tell you the truth." Those simple words set off alarms in Iruka's mind.

"No! Don't!"

"Twelve years ago, you know about the demon fox being sealed, right?" Naruto frowned. What did that old legend have to do with anything right now? "Since that day, a special rule was created for this village."

"A rule?" Evidently, Iruka opted to just let this happen.

"But, this rule was never meant to be told to you."

"If there's a rule, how the hell would I be supposed to follow it if I don't even know it?" Mizuki chuckled darkly.

"The rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the nine tailed demon fox."

Eh?

"It means that you are the nine tailed demon fox that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village. You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire and you have been lied to by everyone! Didn't you find it odd how everyone hates you? Iruka is the same! He also hates you! Nobody will ever love you! That scroll was used to seal you up!" There was a heartbeat as Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and his awareness slipped.

The Sealed Realm

Eugeo's eyes opened. His coffin of ice seemed to suck him backwards, and deposited him on the other side of the gate to where the Kyubi was. He turned around, and before him was a young boy who looked at him in shock.

"Y-you are-!"

"My name is Eugeo. Nice to meet you. What is your name?" Came the calm reply. The boy wore the clothing typical of Rulid village, only with orange coloring. A massive scroll was slung onto his back, and a sword hung from his limp right hand.

"Eugeo? But I thought-. My name is Naruto."

"Could you tell me what's going on?" After a brief synopsis of Naruto's situation, Eugeo nodded. "Alright, I will teach you something to use. This is a Sword Art called Vorpal Strike. It was taught to me by Kirito, and is a facet of the Aincrad Sword Style." The armored man gestured for Naruto to hand him his sword. Naruto gave him the plain sword, and Eugeo nodded. Facing away from Naruto, he leveled the sword at his side, and crouched. "Prepare the thrust as so, and concentrate your will into the blade. Your opponent is older and more experienced. Your best bet is going to be speed, and that is the incarnation of this technique." The sword took on a faint blue glow, and Eugeo's expression made it appear as though he were trying to coil a spring with his will alone. "Once there, release your will." Eugeo shot forward faster than Naruto could follow, sword out in a spearing motion. Once ten meters were covered, Eugeo landed at a standstill and brought the sword back into a guarded stance. He returned, and handed the sword back to Naruto.

"Your turn." Naruto nodded with renewed conviction, and was about to perform it for himself in front of Eugeo, before he was awoken to reality. Iruka had knocked him over and taken a large shuriken to the back, evidently protecting him from the attack. Enraged, Naruto stood up and placed himself between Iruka and Mizuki. He sheathed his sword and formed the seal he needed.

[ **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** ]!

Three clones of Naruto formed, and fanned out to each have their own angle on Mizuki. "Don't touch Iruka-sensei! I'll kill you!" Mizuki cackled in response, clearly not believing the young swordsman.

"I'll kill someone like you in one shot!" Mizuki pulled his second large shuriken off his back.

The four Naruto's pulled their swords from their sheath and crouched, swords leveled at their sides. The form was similar to when he tried to spear through Sasuke in their spar a few days ago, Naruto idly thought. The swords glowed a faint red, flames seemingly licked at the blades as Naruto willed as much of his emotionally charged chakra as he could into himself and the sword.

Mizuki, having witnessed Naruto's previous spar with Sasuke, snickered. He already knew what Naruto was going to do, and how fast he could do it. Or so he thought. There was a whistle, and then there was nothing. Iruka looked on in morbid fascination at what he just witnessed. Naruto moved so fast, that a red after-image trailed behind, trying to catch up with the boy who looked as though he re-materialized with four swords spearing through Mizuki's form. Mizuki bore no expression of shock.

He died instantly, with the confident expression still plastered on his face. For Naruto's part, the three clones dispelled, and Naruto released the sword that was still buried inside Mizuki, as though it were trying to strike him back.

Having finished the field wrapping of his own wound, Iruka got up and walked over to the shell-shocked blonde. "Naruto..." He took off his own headband, and wrapped it around the blonde's own forehead. Clearly, he was still out of sorts, as the boy did not respond to his field promotion. "We'll save the congratulations for later. I'll get you to the Yamanaka's, and go make the report." As Iruka guided Naruto out of the clearing, a contingent of masked shinobi came out of the shadows, and gathered the skewered chunin that was bleeding out on the ground. One of them stayed back, and scored the remains of the battle.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto: Alicization 

Premise: The truth of Naruto's nightly experiences is brought to light, and Naruto forms a bond with his new brother figure. In the Hokage's office,

Chapter 4: Alicization Beginning – Part 4

The Sealed Realm

Yamanaka Inoichi stood before the massive gates that he knew withheld the form of the Kyubi no Yoko behind it's layer of ice. His blonde ponytail drifted as he turned to inspect the two people before him. He had heard about the theft of the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. He was up late because of the fear for the village's security being at risk. Then Iruka had come by with a catatonic Naruto. After a brief description of the night's events, he left Naruto in Inoichi's care, shouldered the Scroll and went off to the Hokage's Office.

That left him with his current situation. The first thing he had noticed after sitting Naruto in his office and entering his mind was that the Kyubi no Yoko's cage was completely iced over. The next thing he noticed was the alien entity that was outside the cage, and tending to the shivering blonde child who was quietly repeating apologies.

The alien entity wouldn't have been so alien, if it weren't for the full plate armor that was adorned with regal fabrics and iconography. Also, his features were not native to their lands. His eyes were wide open, and his nose jutted out a bit more to a point. Nevertheless, the expression on his face was that of concern. He was crouched at Naruto's side, and gently rubbing his back.

Inoichi decided now would be the best time to start this conversation.

"Who are you?"

The man looked over to him, and Inoichi noted the sea green-blue eyes. The man gave Inoichi a warm smile.

"My name is Eugeo, though I got a promotion of sorts, so my full name is Eugeo Synthesis Thirty Two. May I ask what your name is?"

The entire name sounded foreign and without discernible meaning to Inoichi.

"My name is Yamanaka Inoichi, an official of Konohagakure no Sato. I entered this child's mind to perform some mental health checks. Why are you here, and where did you come from?"

"I don't really understand why I'm here. To be honest, I couldn't even begin to understand where here is, especially in relation to where I am from."

Eugeo's tone remained calm the entire time, and serene. It was as though he had found an inner peace of some sort.

"I will tell you what I can, though. I'm not sure how long ago it was, but somewhere around a decade ago is when I believe I died, and came to this place, and somehow inhabited the mind of this child."

"You're claiming to be a ghost?" One would have to forgive Inoichi for the note of incredulity in his voice. Eugeo offered a warmhearted chuckle and waved his hand.

"No, not quite. I can tell that the light of my soul is still intact. In fact..." Eugeo paused and allowed Inoichi to witness him tracing a rune or seal of some sort on his arm. Then, a window appeared.

Durability: 13,372 / 25,000

The window dissipated.

"It's more likely that my soul lost it's connection to my original body when I..." Eugeo choked for a moment, and Inoichi recognized the signs of someone having come to remember something possibly traumatic or shocking. He waited for Eugeo to come down from this state.

"Yeah, that's probably the cause. I performed a forbidden Sacred Art to reconstitute my body into a weapon that would fulfill the purpose of slaying the Highest Minister. I succeeded, but my body in its sword form was destroyed, and my soul had no-where to belong anymore. I guess it found it's way here. I couldn't tell you how, but that's what I understand. Ever since, I believe I've been sleeping in here, while my soul restored it's integrity." Inoichi nodded. There was still much unseen beyond the seas. It's possible these people were normal in some other far-off land in their world.

"I see."

Inoichi walked over to Naruto and took a knee opposite of Eugeo, while trying to ignore the frozen floor. The feeling of his knee getting cold prompted him to ask about the other matter.

"This cage, and the ice covering it. Was that your doing?" Eugeo laughed a bit suddenly and scratched at the back of his head. A nervous gesture.

"Well, you see, when I first got here, there was this big orange fox-like Magic Creature that was thrashing about and trying to break it's containment. I was really tired, so I kind of froze everything off." Inoichi hummed in thought. He was brought over to investigate the seal by the Sandaime Hokage twelve years ago when the ink composing the seal had turned an ice blue in color. Lo-and-behold, there was nothing identifiable inside the sealed realm other than that a layer of ice decorated with sculpted vines, thorns, and roses was hiding whatever was inside the seal from sight. Turns out, it was this guy's doing. Turning his attention to Naruto, he began his actual job here.

"Naruto, look at me." The boy stopped mumbling and looked over to him. "I understand you've had a pretty busy night. Look, I understand that you aren't used to killing. I'm not going to tell you that killing is good. I'm not going to tell you to get used to it either. What I will tell you, is that, in this instance, it was necessary. Sometimes it'll be hard to know if it's necessary. But, if you didn't kill Mizuki, and he got away and managed to kill Iruka, how would you feel?"

Naruto's expression turned from shock to grief and his body shied away from him. Likely revolting at the idea.

"That's right. You would be even more distressed then. This is known as the choice between the lesser of two evils. It'll never be an easy choice, but in our line of work, will inevitably always be one that is presented to us."

Eugeo then took his turn.

"You might know me as well as I know myself at this point, Naruto. That being, I'm aware you've been living my memories in your dreams for as long as I've been a part of you." Inoichi's eyes widened and darted towards Eugeo.

There were many little things about Naruto that the Hokage had his subordinates quietly investigate. Naruto never behaved like other lonely children. He didn't seek for attention or acknowledgment from anyone. He didn't go out of his way to try and socialize with anyone. There was a proclamation he had made in the academy a couple years back that was permanently etched into his record now. When asked what his dream for the future was, he said wanted to become an Integrity Knight. When asked to elaborate, his answer was one that marked him early on as potential flight risk to the village.

To Naruto, an Integrity Knight was a hero who guarded humanity against the darkness.

Nothing ever said by Naruto spoke of allegiance to the leaf. The other matter was the paper that the academy had each student fill in a question on. That question was "if the world were to end, who would you want to spend your last day with?" That brought the Hokage to the next large question marks.

Alice and Kirito.

Integrity Knight, Alice and Kirito. The Hokage had given up on his search for anything about Integrity Knights, and left that at as a child's invention for a noble goal. Alice and Kirito were not given up on so easily. The entire census of the Land of Fire was carefully checked for any case of their being a person named Alice or Kirito in the Land of Fire. There were none. However, instead of just giving up, he left that names as keywords for Jiraiya to poke around for. They never brought these questions to Naruto, fearing the amount of scrutiny the Hokage would be placing on the boy as potentially dangerous for village security.

Now, things were coming into focus.

"You are going to probably be reliving everything before I'm fully recovered, though I'll be able to start guiding my memories from now on, but there is one that I'm going to keep from you until this end. I will still tell you of it, though. Before I graduated from the Sword Mastery Academy, there was an incident. It turned out that mine and Kirito's apprentices were being abused by some of our colleagues. Sadly, when we went to question our colleagues about this, our girls were already in their dorm, and tied to their beds. Due to the absolute law of the Central Church, I was having difficulty comprehending the situation. People don't hurt people. Or, I thought they didn't. Turns out, the law forgave people for breaking it, if they simply perceived what they were doing as otherwise. These two men were getting ready rape them in front of us, while expecting us to do nothing about it. We didn't. I broke the cursed seal that prevented me from being able to break the law myself, and I slaughtered the man who was going to take my charge's innocence."

Inoichi nodded grimly while Naruto watched Eugeo with crying eyes. Somehow, Eugeo maintained his composure the entire time. Inoichi figured he must have had extensive diplomatic training as a royal prince of some sort. He had to wonder if maybe this Eugeo person was an Integrity Knight himself.

"Well, long story short, I didn't think too hard about it. I found my resolve. I decided that those who would willingly hurt the innocent don't need to be around to do so. Your Mizuki-sensei is one such figure. If I were in your shoes, I would've put him down all the same."

Naruto nodded, his posture evidently coming down from his near-hysteric self.

"Hey… did I, or… you… did you become an Integrity Knight, finally?"

Eugeo nodded with a faint smile.

"I did. It doesn't really happen the way I thought it did, but I did become one."

That seemed to finally break Naruto from his stupor. His eyes lit up, ears perked, and an excited smile broke out across his lips.

"Hey, hey, how do I become an Integrity Knight."

Eugeo openly laughed and messed with Naruto's hair with a gauntlet-ed hand.

"Maybe later, Naruto. For now, I think you need to let you mind properly go to rest. Don't you want to see what happens when Kirito comes back?"

Naruto pouted and lied down, using Eugeo's lap as a pillow. Before long, his image had faded from their presence, having finally allowed his mind some silence to rest to.

Then, there were two. Eugeo slumped against the gate and let his eyes slide over to Inoichi.

"I bet you have more questions."

"How is your presence here going to affect Naruto moving forward?" Eugeo sighed.

"Well, I can't be sure, really. The fact that he is living through my memories in his sleep isn't something that I can control, but I can guide which parts of my memories he can see. Practically speaking, he'll be acquiring all of my knowledge, skills, experience, and wisdom over time. Once he's seen everything… I have no clue. I only lived to nineteen years, so that's probably when the memories will stop. But I exist here. My soul hasn't been fading, but repairing. Even so, I have no-where to go. I'll probably just exist here until Naruto himself passes. Which, I'm okay with that, I think. Naruto lives a very lonely life. I think he could do with some family, don't you?"

Inoichi once more nodded. He could surely mark Eugeo Synthesis Thirty Two as an individual of extreme moral bearing. That could be a problem if those same traits passed on to Naruto.

This village was a military base for Ninja.

"I have one more question. You mentioned a person named Kirito. Is there also someone named Alice in your memories too?"

Eugeo paused before offering a grim smile.

"Yes. Kirito was my brother, in every sense of the term except for biological. As for Alice..." Eugeo held out his right hand, and light coalesced into a faint cube of light. Inoichi observed the anomaly with awe. "I loved her. I went through many trials and tribulations to find her, and when I did, all I found was her puppet body, and this fragment of her original soul that the High Priest was using to fuel her weapons. This is what remains of her. I don't know how much longer she has. Since I've come to, I've been checking her life, and it's been draining. I suspect these remains will only last another year."

Well, that solved that.

"Thank you for your time, Eugeo. Please take care. I have more work to do outside."

Eugeo offered him a short wave.

"Have a nice day!"

Inoichi's Office

After having made sure that Naruto was sleeping on the small couch comfortably, he pulled out a notepad that he furiously wrote some notes on before he forgot. With notes in hand, he left.

He had a report to deliver.


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto: Alicization

Premise: The teams are formed without much fanfare. Naruto graduates from one academy, and begins another.

Chapter 5: Alicization Running

Ninja Academy Training Field

The sword cut through the air twice more, forming the shape of a diagonal slant in the air, before the chakra consisting of the spectral shape dissipated. Naruto sheathed his sword, and bent over while clasping his knees and panting. Sweat dripped from his brow, betraying the signs of physical training.

Eugeo, in his mind, was instructing him in the way of the sword. Over the weekend, he had been having Naruto practice stances within the Sealed Realm, before having him physical practice the Sword Skill that Eugeo called "Aincrad Style: Slant."

Naruto picked up the water bottle that he had sitting off to the side of sparring patch he was using for his training and took a quick swig. It was disorienting using Eugeo's sword style, since the use of the skills almost hijacked the control of his body. That brought him to why Eugeo was having him practice it outside of the Sealed Realm.

Eugeo told him about how the Sword Skills worked better by physically assisting the skill. You could make it faster by having the art ingrained into your body, and using it naturally, so to speak. As such, Naruto was practicing hard at using Slant as naturally as he could. He thought he was getting used to it, but Eugeo told him that he couldn't use it in live combat without his say-so yet.

On the matter of Eugeo, he had became a known factor of Naruto's confidential records. The village leadership now had full awareness of the alien entity that existed within Naruto's mind and currently trained him. Due to the nature of the situation, it was decided that Eugeo's existence within Naruto's mind would be held to the same gag order as his possession of the Kyubi no Yoko, only without the general populous being aware.

The school bell rang, and Naruto finally became aware that it was day time. He had come here before dawn to start his training before classes started. With a sigh, he went ahead and entered the building.

Classroom

Upon Eugeo's suggestion, Naruto had removed Iruka's hitai-ate plate from the cloth, and riveted it to the sheathe of his sword. Naturally, that was what was currently being stared at by the students in the room. He expected them to question him, but they all seemed to just accept his presence there, which he didn't expect from the rowdy bunch. Still though, they were staring.

He gave a wave of his hand to the class and adopted the kind smile that Eugeo would often give him during his instruction. "I'm back. Passed a make-up exam where they tested me on everything." Which wasn't false. After his session with the Yamanaka elder, he had gone to the Hokage's office with Iruka and been given an impromptu test where he was tested on literally everything they taught at the academy. Except for the clone technique, he had stellar marks on everything else. So with the newly added Shadow Clones to his repertoire, that was further considered a moot point to his ninja evaluation.

His piece said, he went to take a seat beside Sasuke. It wasn't usually so quiet before the teacher was in, Naruto idly considered. That would be because…

The room door crashed open as the Yamanaka heir and Haruno Sakura made themselves known, trying to squeeze through the doorway against each other. Each had a foot forward, and they were certainly making unladylike like sounds and comments at each other as they tried to evidently compete at who could get to class first.

Eventually, Sakura slipped in first, declared herself victor, and made her way up to where Naruto was seated and placed her hands at her hips. Perhaps in another timeline, where Naruto had poor manners and had a penchant for irritating her, she would have been considerably more violent with her approach. As it is, with Naruto's generally more well known politeness and respect for others, she was all too happy to take another approach.

"Hey, Naruto, could you move a bit so I could slide past you, please?"

Naruto nodded and stood up. He thought he caught a glare from Sasuke out the corner of his eye, but paid it no mind. Stepping out of the bench into the aisle, he let Sakura get passed him to sit next to Sasuke before he seated himself again. Sakura seemed to have a thought before turning to address Naruto.

"Wait, didn't you fail the Genin Exam?"

"Ah, because of extenuating circumstances, Iruka-sensei took me to the Hokage for a review board. Turns out that all of my skills and knowledge except for the clone technique were exceptional, and that there was actually a clinical reason for my not being able to use the clone technique very well. I have way too much chakra, and the academy curriculum doesn't teach us sufficient chakra control techniques. The Hokage gave me a scroll with some rudimentary techniques for chakra control."

"Oh, okay."

Just then, Iruka had come in and set his clipboard and notes on the podium at the front of the class.

"I suppose I owe you all a small farewell speech."

The murmuring started instantly. Iruka's twitching eyebrow spoke volumes of how much he cared for it.

"Silence!"

The order was followed.

"As of today, you are all fine men and women of Konoha's ninja forces. There's no more academy. While some of you may find solace in this fact, to my own chagrin, I know some of you will one day wish you could be back here instead of out there. I have no illusions about the future. Some of you may even be dead within the next year. Remember, the first years of your career are the most vital, and the most dangerous. It really is my hope that you will all continue to live on, and come to teach students of your own. I've been proud to taught you all, and hope to watch you all compete in the Chunin Exams in the years to come."

A somber mood filled the class. Iruka was an often abused teacher for his sometimes lack of discipline, but none of them could argue that he didn't give his all to teach them.

"With that being said, you're now going to be formed into four-man cells. Three genin and one jonin. As I hope you all remember, this is the standard squad make-up for Konoha's genin. From here on, your teammates will be your brothers and sisters-in-arms, a bond almost akin to marriage for a Konoha ninja. I expect you all to bond well with your team."

Naruto nodded with a serious expression on his face. After having spoken with Eugeo, he had come to learn that Alice and Kirito were in fact not his friends, even despite having Kirito returning to his company in his dreams. It took a lot of talk for Eugeo to convince Naruto of the necessity of making friends in the waking world.

Iruka had begun listing off teams.

"Team 10! Capture, retrieval, and information. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Choji. Your jonin instructor and commander is Sarutobi Asuma. He's issued orders for you all to meet him at the Yakiniku Q diner this afternoon. Dismissed."

The heirs and successors of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho combo team reacted in a reserved manner, likely having already assumed this was the most likely team they would have been on. Choji cheered that their first meeting would be over some BBQ. Ino pointed at her own eyes with two fingers before directing them at Sakura on her way out in an "I'm watching you!" gesture.

"Team 8! Espionage, torture, and assassination. Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Your jonin instructor and commander is Yuhi Kurenai. She's issued orders for you all to meet her at the Dango Shop immediately. Dismissed."

Kiba shouted happily about hoping his female instructor as a "babe" as he got up to file out. Shino simply left, and Hinata meekly got up and left behind him, unable to look up. Naruto frowned in thought. While he was aware of her lineage, and what that meant for Konoha on a military level, he didn't approve of the team she had been placed with. He had observed and thought so many times before, but the girl's heart was not here. She was kind and gentle without a violent bone in her body. She just got told she would be in a team that was going to be training towards the more dark and violent aspects of their career field. Needless to say, he didn't approve.

Unfortunately, she still accepted it, and it was her will, as far as he could tell. It was nearly impossible to surpass the Calling. Later, Naruto would reflect, he would realize that he let his dreams interfere with his real world logic.

"Team 7! Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura. Your jonin instructor and commander is Hatake Kakashi. He did not order anything for your first meeting, so I advise waiting here for the time being. Dismissed."

Naruto's eyes squinted tight, and he paid attention to the pattern of the rest of the teams as they were called out. He also figured Sakura and Sasuke were doing the same. After Team 1 had been called and filed out, Sakura rose her hand.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Hey, Iruka-sensei, why didn't we get a meeting or team roles?"

"Ah, I'm afraid I can't be sure of the answer. See, the roles and meeting are filled in by the jonin in question. So you'll have to ask him when he shows up."

Naruto's Apartment

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the The Third Hokage, observed the other man in the apartment as he lackadaisically shuffled through the contents of Naruto's apartment. The man had spiky silvered hair, and his face was covered by a combination of a face mask for the lower half of his face, and a Konoha headband that secreted away his left eye from the world.

"You know, you could've just told your students that you wanted to inspect their living conditions."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he observed the evidently expired milk jug in his hand that had a penciled in "+4 days" after the expiration date that would have made it not expired. He handed the jug to the Hokage to look at.

"Mah, well, kids are clever, especially the wanna-be ninja kind of kids. I didn't want the natural conditions disturbed before taking a look around. This one is a little weird, I think."

"Oh?"

"It's almost like he's treating his home like a hotel room."

"How do you mean?"

"He's a young boy. Even Sasuke has more decoration in his room. The bed is made, there's no trash. He literally has only one each of utensils and dishes. He doesn't even have the notion that he could have guests over just by the dishes alone."

"I suppose so. This milk is somewhat interesting."

"Mah, I'm a little afraid of it, honestly. How many times did Naruto have to taste different levels of expiration to be able to tell when this one would actually expire?"

Hiruzen gave him a pointed look, while handing him back the milk jug.

"I _assume_ you read the report inside the vault that I told you to read, correct?"

Kakashi nodded in response without hesitation.

"The answer lies in that report then? I didn't really notice…"

The scarecrow cut himself off as he realized what was being referenced.

"That Stacia Window thing. He can use it to track the decay rate of biological material?"

"Correct. The ability is useful, but for now, it appears to be unique to Naruto somehow. Eugeo had freely informed us that it was something called a Sacred Art that was use-able by almost anyone from his land with enough System Authority. I've had our ANBU try to replicate the two techniques that Naruto demonstrated for us, but…"

"You know, it kind of strikes me as odd, the naming conventions for those abilities, if you know what I mean."

"Indeed. The phrases are like the words used by our Cryptology Division. The thought crossed my own mind, and I've been having them study Naruto's confidential records behind closed doors."

"I see."

The elder Sarutobi observed the clock on Naruto's wall before returning to address the Jonin.

"By the way, when are you supposed to meet your team?"

Kakashi froze. Hiruzen glared.

"You didn't set one, did you?"

A light chuckle, and a scratch at the back of his head was all the response the Hokage needed. He ripped the milk jug out of the man's hand before admonishing him.

"It's five pm, Hatake! Get your ass to the academy immediately! Bear, make sure he doesn't get distracted!"

Kakashi hurried to comply, using the Shunshin no Jutsu to banish from the room. A shadow in the corner of the room followed in hot pursuit. The Hokage growled as he put the milk back in the fridge.

"I can't believe that man sometimes."

Ninja Academy Class Room

Kakashi opened the door, but did not see what he expected to see. There were no disgruntled and irritated children in the room. At the back of his neck, he could feel his hair stand on end as he felt the shadow's judging gaze pierce a hole into the back of his head.

"I advise finding them as soon as possible, Hatake-taicho. I'm afraid this will have to be in my report."

Kakashi spun on his heel and clasped his hands together in a plea to the shadow in the corner.

"Could you please maybe help me a little? Pretty please?"

The judging intensified.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto: Alicization

Premise: Naruto wasn't inspired to prank their new jonin sensei, so Sakura didn't get interested in waiting. Instead, she decided that they needed to go see the next man in the chain of command.

Chapter 6: Team 7 Running

Nara Household

Nara Shikaku scratched lazily at the back of his head. Naruto idly noted that he looked almost identical to Shikamaru. Or perhaps with how lineage works, the phrase should be that Shikamaru looked almost identical to his father.

"Shika, your friends came here to see… me? Not you?" His mini-me just simply shrugged and offered the simple word that their family used to express themselves at what could have even been the spiritual level.

"Troublesome."

"Alright, well… go get us some tea. You three, go ahead and take a seat."

He had just began his evening playing shogi with his son, too. Sitting on the table between him and his guests was a board that was freshly set up with only one move made! He groaned.

"Alright, tell me what's up."

Almost immediately, Sakura's hand was raised. The girl used to come around to their house when she was still friends with Ino. She was still a student in the head, apparently. Also, it seemed as though the two boys, Naruto and Sasuke, were perfectly content with just following her around, and let her do the talking.

"Just say it."

"Yes, sir. Team 7's jonin instructor never showed up at the academy, and never issued us a place to meet him. We waited until the academy closed, then came to see you about it."

Great, just great. And if he recalled correctly…

"Who is your jonin instructor, again?"

"Hatake Kakashi."

Of course. The kids were correct in seeking him, too. In the event of an assigned leader being missing in action, the procedure was to make contact with the next highest individual in the chain of command. When said leader is a jonin, that made him, the jonin commander, the next highest in the chain of command.

Shikamaru did say she was smart. Just then, Shikamaru came back in the room with a tray that had five tea mugs on it. Naturally, he went to give one to his father first. Unnaturally, he didn't get a chance to bring the rest to Team 7. Just as soon as he was about to step away, the cup that Shikaku had taken was placed back on the tray empty, and another was taken. Before anyone knew it, Shikaku had drained all five cups of tea. He stood up and motioned for Team 7 to follow him.

Hokage's office

The Hokage's office rarely felt heated. Sarutobi briefly considered if his smoking his pipe indoors would truly be enough to raise the temperature in the room. Nara Shikaku was there. Not only was Nara Shikaku in his office with a frustrated expression on his face, he was there with Team 7, who each also had similar expressions.

"Are you sure?"

"As troublesome as it is, yes."

Shikaku handed him a form that had his dread written on it.

Official Complaint. He couldn't save Team 7's jonin instructor when it was his jonin commander issuing it. The Third Hokage had _never_ had to deal with this before. Jonin instructors were assigned to newly minted genin teams only after a thorough vetting, and receiving recommendations from their peers. In hindsight, he should've known better with the less-than-professional behavior that Kakashi had been exhibiting for the last couple years.

"Very well. Truly, him and his shadow should be here in a couple minutes. We'll have to discuss a reprimand for Hatake Kakashi when we have the next counsel meeting. I'm not looking forward to it."

"I have something I would like to discuss partially related to that."

"Oh?"

Shikaku took a moment to look back at the curious gazes of the students behind him. These kids would not be able to trust the Hatake for months to come. They had no reason to, and if he was in their shoes, he wouldn't either. That was a disaster waiting to happen.

Nara Shikaku straightened out and stood at attention in front of his Hokage.

"Sir, I am requesting the exchange of Team 7 from Jonin Hatake's leadership into mine."

It may be troublesome. It might be uncalled for. However, Kakashi was his responsibility. That made this logistical disaster his responsibility as well. He had to take responsibility. Shikaku saw the alarm in his Hokage's eyes, but there was no other reaction. Giving the elder a lopsided grin, he decided that he needed to give a bit more explanation.

"Leaving genin with a man who is clearly as untrustworthy as Kakashi proves himself to be is a bad idea. If it were my call, I would put him through remedial training. That brat needs to get his head square on his shoulders again." What was left unsaid was his own admonishment to the Hokage for letting Kakashi maintain that state for so many years. The dimmed light in the elder's eyes reflected that he understood what Shikaku was trying to say.

"And your duties as Jonin Commander on the counsel?"

"I retain them, of course. Additionally, Team 7 will get first hand experience and training with my field."

The Hokage sighed.

"Very well. I'll process the paperwork. Team 7, until tomorrow at noon, you are unofficially under Nara Shikaku's direct command. At which time, it will be made official, should nothing else have happened been decided by then. Dismissed."

The four filed out of the room, and let two other people in. The only acknowledgment either group gave the other was the withering glare Shikaku leveled Kakashi with.

The door shut, leaving Kakashi, Bear, and the Hokage alone in his office. The Hokage lifted a paper for Kakashi to see.

"Do you know what this is, Kakashi?"

Kakashi pulled at the lip of his mask a bit, feeling a little hot under the collar.

"A formal complaint?"

"A formal complaint. Do you know what just happened?"

"No, sir."

"Team 7 has been removed from you care."

"Ah…"

"Ah is right. Give me your vest." Kakashi hesitated a moment before shrugging off his vest. He had grown since he had become a chunin, so this isn't the same vest that he first got, but it was still important. He paced over and laid the vest, folded up, on the Hokage's desk.

"Bear, Genin Hatake is due remedial training. See to it, please."

"Sir!"

Bear placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, and the two were removed from his office.

Elsewhere in the Hokage Tower

Shikaku guided Team 7 to the second floor of the Hokage Tower, where he ushered them into the room. Inside was a couple couches that framed the length of a coffee table in the left corner near the door. By the window with closed blinds was an office desk with a handful of papers on it. In the right corner near the door was a little kitchenette with a coffee maker and some other quick-cook appliances. Along the walls were posters of various maps and cipher tables.

"You kids go ahead and take a seat. Any of you want coffee?" He asked as he meandered on over to the kitchenette. Coffee prepared, he looked back at the students to see Sakura with her hand raised, and Sasuke with his hand raised, but only slightly. Naruto seemed firm about now wanting any. "Oolong Tea sound good to you, Naruto? I hear you like the stuff."

"Eh? Uhm, sure? Who told you that I like Oolong Tea?"

Shikaku chuckled.

"While my job title is Jonin Commander, it's more accurate to say that I'm the military commander for out village. Not only jonin, but all ninja of our village fall under my jurisdiction. My authority in military matters is only second to the Hokage himself. My predecessor didn't go to the same extremes as I have, but I've made it a point to read every single line written about any of our ninja in their files. Every little thing about how you live your lives is important to your career, which makes them important to our military. That is why I care."

Shikaku handed each of the genin their drinks before taking a seat across from them with his own mug of black coffee. Sakura took a sip of hers before looking up in surprise.

"I thought coffee was supposed to be like really bitter, but this is sweet!" Shikaku chuckled.

"Your own file indicated that you are adverse to bitter tasting foods and drinks. I took the liberty of giving you a nice helping of sugar and creamer."

"Thank you, sir!" Sakura responded before happily going back to nursing her mug. Sasuke drank his own coffee at a casual gate, his record showing that he normally drank coffee.

"This will be your first lesson." Naruto hadn't sipped from his yet, as they all looked to him expectantly. "Naruto, what kind of poison that isn't odorless or tasteless could I have slipped in Sasuke's coffee without him being able to detect it?" Naruto looked over to Sasuke in alarm, clearly worried that Sasuke was drinking poison at this very moment.

"I don't know, pain killers?"

"Your file did indicate only very basic understanding of poisons. This is a fault of the current curriculum. Something I will be expanding on while you three are with me. While pain killers is true, it's false in that it is odorless and tasteless. So it's not what I was asking for. No, the answer is straight insecticide. Knowing that young Sasuke here enjoys coffee means knowing that he would be susceptible to slightly more invasive and more immediately dangerous chemicals should it be exploited. While dangerous for that knowledge to be available to forces who would want to use it against you, it's important for your own people know these things, should something befall you that could be related to those weaknesses. Your first lesson is that you need to guard your likes and dislikes from those you don't trust. This lesson will be expanded upon when it's time for us to take missions outside the village."

Shikaku took a deep breath in of the aroma from his own coffee as he watched the information figuratively sink into their heads.

"So, I know who you all are, I guess is the segue into the next topic. It's time I tell you about me. You all know me from your lessons on who I am in regards to your chain of command. My full name is Nara Shikaku. I have a troublesome wife and a midget clone of myself recently became a genin too. I never actually got to have my own genin team, as my insight was too valuable after the last war, and then after the Kyubi Attack. My job is to look at the bigger picture of mission requests and troop movements as they pertain to our village. This job is going to be shared by you all, so that I can get time to teach you all to become better ninja."

Each of the genin were excited about this. Each for their own reasons. This wasn't just any jonin they got. This was the Commander. For Sakura, this meant strategy and theory. For Sasuke, this meant strength and tactics. For Naruto, this meant leadership and responsibility.

"Now, I know I said that I basically know everything about you from your files, but I've decided I want to hear some things from your own mouths. So, I'll ask you for some basic stuff. Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and goals. That stuff."

Sakura raised her hand.

"Sakura, you're not a student anymore. While that doesn't mean forego respect, it does mean you don't have to treat this like a classroom. You can relax while we're in my office."

Lowering her hand, she contributed her introduction to the group. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like sweets in moderation, and I dislike bitter stuff. My hobbies include reading and Sudoku puzzles. As for my dream..." She gave Sasuke a sidelong glance before returning her attention to Shikaku and twiddling her thumbs. "I don't really know yet."

"Naruto."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like non-perishable food and drinks. I dislike people who swear by rules, even if the rules are wrong. My hobbies are sword training and window shopping for new swords. My dream is to become to first Integrity Knight in this world!"

Ah, that's right. Since his first appointment with Inoichi, he and this Eugeo person were asked to give detailed accounts of the memories he lived through. They were treated as mission reports, since as far as Naruto was concerned, he may as well have experienced those events himself. The item from his dislikes was likely derived from that situation with the Integrity Knight and Alice. He and his staff were compiling them under what were known as the Naruto: Alicization records. Alicization being a term suggested by Eugeo, though he didn't give any context about it.

"Sasuke."

"Uchiha Sasuke." Shikaku sniffed at the theme of each one using less words than the last to say their name. "I like… acidic foods, I guess. Preferably tomatoes. I dislike sweets." His tastes were polar opposites from Sakura. While not exactly a puzzle. It seemed to fit, in Shikaku's mind. He also wondered if he gave them the wrong impression about what he meant by likes and dislikes. Except for Naruto's dislikes, they all talked about food.

Wait.

Kakashi stood them up all day. They likely hadn't eaten lunch or dinner yet today. Shikaku looked at the clock. Seven PM.

Fuck you, Kakashi.

"My hobby is training. My goal in life is to kill a man, and rebuild my clan."

"Alright, sounds good kiddos. Now, do y'all have any questions before we separate for the day?"

Sakura responded.

"Sir, when we were assigned teams, we didn't get told what mission roles we were meant for. Why was that?"

"Ah, that. The long and short of it is that there were no teams that any of you three could fill into, and fill the mission demands that those teams were designed for. On one hand, you could consider yourselves as leftovers. On the other, that means we have more flexibility what missions we'll get. We'll be going over that later. Now my question. Are you three okay with Sakura being your genin team leader?"

Sakura jumped in her seat in shock. "Eh? What?"

Naruto responded in a kind manner. "I don't see a problem with it."

Sasuke's response touched her, however. "I trusted her judgment so far, and I'm please with the results. I don't see a reason for it to not continue." That was more words than Sasuke had ever said about her before!

"Good, now that that's cleared, you lot go to the Yakiniku Q diner and tell the Akimichi staffing the place right now that I'm treating you. Make sure you each get whatever you want to eat. The bad news is that you aren't as lucky as other genin teams, by being mine. Other genin teams get weekends off so that we can use their jonin instructors for a couple days. You lot aren't so lucky. I'm still working here seven days a week, and don't get vacations, so you'll be sharing my work schedule. Every day from now you, you'll be meeting me here at seven in the morning. Dismissed."


End file.
